Book 1 Chapter 34

【34】33.

"What? You saw the King of Wisdom?!"

"Awesome! This is huge! So, is that Hero Record about Sir Licinas?"

The entire grade was in chaos due to the Heroology incident.

All professors at the academy were summoned, and classes were replaced with self-study.

Such was the gravity of the incident.

There aren't many records left of the Great Heroes, the first heroes recorded in the Hero Records.

In such a situation, a new page fragment of the Hero Record featuring Licinas was discovered.

It was no wonder that Lumerne was in an uproar.

While other students were reacting noisily,

Leo was deep in thought.

'Why is only my Hero Record in such a mess?'

The reason the Hero's World was created was probably because Leo, who could be called the owner of the world, touched the Hero Record.

But it was distinctly different from the entrance exam.

'When entering the Hero's World, a message pops up for the challenger, indicating whose world it is. But in this case…'

[Hero Record Open. World of ■■. Chapter: ■■-■■■]

He couldn't tell whose world it was.

'Even when Licinas called my name, I couldn't hear it.'

It was as if someone had intentionally erased Kyle's name.

'There's a definite reason why my Hero Record isn't left.'

Leo narrowed his eyes.

'The Hero Record was originally one, wasn't it?'

The Hero Record, now divided into five, was originally one complete record.

But long ago, due to an incident, it was split into five.

In the process, several pages were lost and scattered across the world.

'What if someone intentionally destroyed the Hero Record?'

The Hero Record is an item that inherits a hero's power.

It is literally the power to nurture heroes.

'If it's someone who doesn't want the birth of new heroes…'

Thinking that far, Leo felt a chill run down his spine.

'Erebos.'

"Leo oppa?"

Leo snapped out of his thoughts at Chelsea's call.

"Why do you look so scared?"

"It's nothing."

'I'll have to investigate why the Hero Record was split first.'

***

A month passed since the Heroology incident.

The initial boisterous atmosphere had calmed down.

The Hero Record related to Licinas was certainly a huge issue.

But there was nothing the first-year students could do about it.

Many students asked professors about Licinas, but they didn't answer.

Moreover, with the midterm exam schedule overlapping, the Heroology incident naturally faded from the first-year students' interest.

Professor Wren's Magic Theory class.

"As you all know, the midterm exam is just around the corner."

The students' expressions tensed.

It was the first time Professor Wren had mentioned the midterm exam today.

They instinctively knew.

'He's going to talk about the practical exam.'

Lumerne's exams consist of written and practical tests.

Especially for major subjects, the practical test scores had a high weighting.

Naturally, students were waiting for the practical exam discussion.

Professor Wren picked up a piece of chalk and stood in front of the blackboard.

The sound of chalk echoed throughout the classroom.

Following that, the students began to murmur.

"Original. In other words, unique magic. This is your midterm practical exam assignment."

Professor Wren tossed the chalk into the chalk box with a thud and shuffled to the center of the podium.

"Original magic is magic that clearly expresses a wizard's individuality. In this era where invocation formulas have become mainstream, wizards tend not to pursue originals. It's inefficient."

Professor Wren grinned at the students.

"But I believe original magic is essential for a wizard. Your own spell, breaking away from standardized formulas, is difficult to counteract. It can also be a secret weapon to protect yourself in an emergency."

At those words, the students' eyes sparkled.

A secret weapon.

This single phrase was enough to stimulate young wizards.

"So, shall we talk about historically famous unique magic? Any student who knows unique magic they'd like to share?"

Students raised their hands at the question.

"Chelsea student."

"Rubert Llewellyn's magic."

"Correct. Indeed, the founder of the Llewellyn family possessed powerful unique magic."

Chelsea sat down with a proud smile.

Starting with that, students began to present one after another.

Professor Wren usually would have taken only a few answers and ended it, but today, he listened to an unusually large number of answers.

It was as if he had a specific answer he was looking for.

The students also noticed this and began to participate more actively in the presentations.

Then Leo raised his hand.

"Leo student! Answer!"

Wren's voice tone rose slightly.

Wren paid keen attention to Leo, but unlike Wren, Leo rarely answered professors' questions.

Leo stood up and said,

"Star Magic."

At those words, the students looked puzzled.

Star Magic.

That referred to the elves' unique magic system.

Of course, it was powerful magic.

But all elves use Star Magic.

Such magic is hard to call unique magic.

However, Chloe, Abbad, and Chelsea paused when they heard Leo's story.

Wren snorted loudly.

"That's right! That was the answer I was hoping for!"

He clapped enthusiastically and explained.

"Star Magic, a magic system that all elves learn! But that's magic that elf wizards modified so that anyone could learn it!"

Wren raised his voice.

"You all know the power of Star Magic!"

Star Magic.

It is unique magic of the elf race, created to suit the elves' mana characteristics.

That's why it was difficult for other races to use Star Magic.

Literally, it was a realm of sense and talent.

When Leo used elf magic, the entire Magic Department was turned upside down.

"However!"

Wren clenched his fist and spoke seriously.

"The Star Magic that elves use now is merely a minor copy of Luna, the progenitor of the nebula's original magic. Only one person in history has ever used true Star Magic!"

'Actually, two.'

Leo rested his chin on his hand and chuckled.

"It is Lady Luna, the founder of Star Magic, the [Progenitor of the Nebula]."

The students in the Magic Department clenched their fists.

"Now, do you all understand why you should pursue original magic?"

To aspiring hero-wizards, Luna was an object of reverence.

The fact that the foundation of Luna's magic was original was enough to emphasize the necessity of original magic to the students.

Ding-dong-ding-dong-

The bell signaling the end of class rang.

"That will be all for today's class."

Students gathered their belongings and stood up.

And they were busy discussing original magic among themselves.

"Original, huh. That's a real headache."

Karl scratched his head.

Original magic was also a kind of creative domain.

Creating new magic was incredibly difficult, not just ordinarily difficult.

"Leo, you have three practical exams for your major, right? You're going to have a hard time preparing."

Karl looked at Leo with a sympathetic expression.

Leo smiled at that.

"I'll have to work hard."

'Well, I have a lot of unique magic.'

Leo had many unique magic spells he had created in his previous life.

This exam was a very welcome practical exam for Leo.

It was when Leo and Karl were leaving the classroom.

"Leo."

He turned his head at the voice calling from behind him.

Chloe, holding a magic book in her arms, was standing there.

Originally, Leo, Karl, and Chloe took magic classes together.

But for the past month, Chloe had started sitting separately from the two.

They weren't fighting or on bad terms.

They often talked and hung out after class.

But they sat separately for class.

'She said she had a strong sense of rivalry towards me, didn't she?'

"Want to grab lunch together?"

When Leo asked with a smile, Chloe took a deep breath and approached Leo.

At that moment, the black grimoire Chloe was holding in her arms caught Leo's eye.

'That's not a textbook, is it? Is it a personal grimoire she's reading?'

"Leo. I'm definitely going to beat you in this practical exam."

Karl was flustered watching Chloe speak with determination.

"Hey, hey! There's no winning or losing between friends! And you say Leo is better? Your capabilities as a wizard, as the top student, are more…"

"No."

Chloe clutched the grimoire tightly.

"Leo is better than me when it comes to magic formulas. That's an undeniable fact."

Her eyes momentarily clouded over after saying that.

"When it comes to magic formulas, I always have to be the best. So I absolutely cannot lose."

Chloe gritted her teeth and stared straight at Leo.

"So I'm going to beat Leo in this exam. Promise me you'll do your best as a wizard too. I won't tolerate neglecting magic because you're worried about other majors."

"Alright. I'll do that."

"Hey, Leo!"

"Don't worry, Karl. It's not a fight."

Leo wore a serious expression.

"After she said it like this, avoiding it would be disrespectful to Chloe."

"Thank you, Leo. Then I'll go first."

Chloe smiled and left.

Watching her, Karl clicked his tongue.

"Youth, it's youth."

***

As the midterm exams approached, the first-year practical exam details were revealed one by one.

Knightology had a sparring exam.

Sparring would be held within the Knightology department during the midterm exam period.

Naturally, rankings were determined by the number of victory points acquired.

Therefore, it was the subject where the practical exam started the earliest.

On the day of the midterm exam, eight top-ranking students would be selected to participate in a tournament-style sparring match.

For Summoning, there were two practical exams.

One was a race on a flying phantom beast, and the other was a test of how freely one could control spirits.

For Magic, it was an original magic development presentation, with external judges invited from outside Lumerne.

Cramming was not allowed.

It was literally an exam to evaluate how diligently one had worked normally.

And for the much-anticipated Battleology and Heroology exams, they were a joint examination.

"As expected."

Karl made an expression that suggested he knew this would happen.

"The goal of the Heroology and Battleology practical exam is to conquer the Hero's World."

Karl pointed to the bulletin board at the front of the classroom.

"It seems the exam is to randomly form teams on the day of the exam and conquer the Hero's World. This is a real headache!"

Teamwork was extremely important in conquering the Hero's World.

If a team's members were decided in advance, and a strategy was planned, efficiency was bound to increase.

However, if the team members were unknown, they had to prepare a strategy for all possible situations.

It was an exam that evaluated a hero cadet's comprehensive abilities.

"No riding on coattails allowed~"

"Hey! Who said I'd ride on coattails!"

"That's right. Karl is baggage that can't even ride on coattails!"

"Chelsea, you!"

Oh ho ho! Giggles! It was when Karl was clutching his head, watching Iliana and Chelsea laugh and run away.

"Karl, isn't this exam actually good for you?"

"What?"

"You're aiming to be a supporter, aren't you?"

Karl's eyes lit up.

"I think your role is clearly defined no matter which team you join."

"Right. I can thoroughly prepare to support any team!"

In battle, the presence or absence of a supporter makes a huge difference.

Rather than clumsily imitating a wizard, Karl could create greater synergy by thoroughly preparing as a supporter.

"Thank you! Leo! I can see the way now because of you!"

"I don't really want Karl's support."

"I'm a little worried too."

"Ted! Nella! Even you guys?!"

Karl clutched his head and wailed at his friends' distrust.